Website International IDEA
Programme Officer
Context
Since 2004, International IDEA has supported three main areas of the democratic process in Nepal: transition to peace and to a democratic system, constitution building and electoral processes. During the period 2004-2015, International IDEA’s main partners included the two Constituent Assemblies, their Legislature Parliaments and Secretariats, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development and the Election Commission of Nepal.
In 2015, once the new Constitution was promulgated and Nepal became a Federal Republic with three spheres of government – federal, provincial and local – International IDEA’s work shifted towards supporting the implementation of key constitutional provisions, supporting the newly introduced federal system by strengthening local government system through deliberative political decision-making processes, in partnership with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
Coherence Program Phase 2: Support to democratic governance and PLGSP effectiveness
Coherence is a joint programme co-created by the MOFAGA, FCDO/BEK and International IDEA, with the overall aim of promoting political coherence within the Nepali system, focused on local and provincial government systems.
Based on the success and lessons from Coherence Phase 1, Phase 2 of the programme was agreed between MOFAGA, FCDO/BEK and International IDEA – Support to Democratic Local Governance and PLGSP Effectiveness. The phase-II of Coherence supported the national framework programme for sub-national capacity building, the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP), to provide a responsive mechanism, to institutionalize the learning from Phase 1 Coherence into PLGSP and Provincial Centre for Good Governance (PCGG), and assisted in effective PLGSP implementation with necessary skills, knowledge, and funds.
In the transition phase of Coherence (July 2023 -Dec 2024), the programme under component 2, Local Government Support and learning integration in PCGG will continue to contribute PLGSP outputs and outcomes through the transfer of products, knowledge, and resources. At the same time, the Programme will work with development partners, FCDO, to align their programmes and processes to support the emergence of democratic processes of governance.
The Programme Officer (PO) will support the day-to-day implementation of the local and provincial work of the transition phase of the Coherence Programme. They will support International IDEA’s Coherence Programme’s engagement with Provincial Research and Training Center (PRTC) in Madesh Province. The PO will work closely with the Provincial Programme Implementation Unit (PPIU) and Provincial Centre for Good Governance (PCGG)/ PRTC and the relevant provincial ministry of the Madesh Province for the implementation of the Provincial Annual Strategic Implementation Plan (P-ASIP) of the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP)and will coordinate and collaborate with the provincial government (PG), development partners (DPs) and respective provincial chapter of National Association of Rural Municipalities of Nepal (NARMIN).
Duties and Responsibilities
- Plans, prepares and implements programme interventions at provincial and local governments in alignment with approved work plans and budgets, and in close coordination with the Senior Advisor, Policy and Programme
- Designs the Political Economic Analysis (PEA) exercise/framework and its orientation for the mentors embedded into the Madesh PRTC team.
- Shares the PEA with other parts of the Coherence team to inform programmatic strategies and wider sharing with development stakeholders specifically FCDO.
- Managers mentors embedded in Janakpur under Coherence, including the day-to-day supervision, coaching /mentoring and evaluating their performance.
Builds and cultivates relationships with PCGG/PRTC, PPIU, OCMCM, NARMIN Provincial Chapter and relevant stakeholders to explore spaces for learning integration into the PCGG in Madesh. - Acts as a focal point for the Madesh Provincial Government, PCGG/PRTC Madesh and PLGSP United Nations Technical teams/UNTA and fosters robust working relationships
Participate in coordination meetings to engage with FCDO and other development partners(GIZ, USAID/UNDP/EU or its funded partners etc.) to facilitate and promote collaborative learning and adaptation. - Facilitate federal, province and municipal level review and reflection meetings/field visits for relevant stakeholders.
- Contributes to quarterly and annual progress reporting and quality assurance of reports, narrative summaries, journals, stories of change and other notes produced by the Coherence PCGG Madesh team.
- In collaboration with the Head of Programme Nepal and Coherence Component Leads, link project evidence and learning to inform strategic policy leadership areas and lead the dissemination of results;
- Identifies synergies with other International IDEA initiatives such as Sahakarya, engagement with NARMIN, and Provincial Engagement Facility (PEF) to draw lessons learned and to inform FCDO/BEK’s engagement with Provinces, local governments, and their contribution to the implementation of Federalism.
- Conducts field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field-level activities of the portfolio.
General Profile
- Requires in-depth knowledge, excellent skills and relevant experience in their field;
- Will contribute significantly to assigned projects all along the project life cycle, i.e. from project design and funding to project assessment; will lead meetings and discussions, supervise publications and review input from external providers;
- Has contributed to publications on the relevant subject; is recognized as a knowledge resource in his/her broad professional community;
- Can work with minimal guidance and supervision;
- Adds value to team-based activities in his/her unit; collaborates with other entities of the Institute;
- Acts as a model or mentor for less experienced colleagues;
- Can be expected to travel globally to any geographical area involved in his/her projects;
- Follows internal procedures to ensure high standards of performance and compliance with Institutional guidelines;
- Acts in accordance with International IDEA’s core values; Respect, Integrity and Professionalism;
- Integrates a gender and diversity perspective in all activities.
Reporting line
- Head of Programme, Nepal
Education and Experience
- University degree in international development, Development Studies, Sociology, Economics, Human Rights or Law or another relevant discipline.
A minimum of five (5) years of professional experience working on strengthening governance systems and processes - Experience in establishing inter-relationships, coordination among federal and provincial government entities and programme management will be an asset.
- Demonstrated experience in political economic analysis and documentation such as contextual analysis, stakeholder mapping, power mapping, and stakeholders’ engagement.
- Experience in working in a civil society organization, or international organization will be an advantage.
- Fluent in written and oral English and Nepali is required. Knowledge of the regional language is an asset.
- Knowledge of other regional languages including Maithili and/or Bhojpuri would be an asset.
Terms of Contract:
- Local Post.
- Fixed-term appointment until 31 December 2024
- Remuneration – NPR 2,54,827 (GROSS) per month
Please note as this is a local post, International IDEA will bear no costs relating to the relocation of the selected candidate to the duty station. This position is open to those legally authorized to live and work in Nepal for the duration of the contract. International IDEA is not able to support work permit applications.
Applying for this position:
- Applications should be submitted online no later than 23:59 (CEST) 25 August 2023.
- Please note that all applications must be made in English.
Selection Process:
- Evaluation of qualified candidates will include a written test assessment and up to two (2) interviews.
- Candidates selected to proceed to the next stage of the process will be contacted once all applications have been carefully reviewed.
- All candidates will be notified of the status of their application via email once the process has been finalized.
International IDEA is an equal-opportunity employer which seeks to further diversify its staff in terms of gender, culture and nationality.
Applications should be submitted online no later than 23:59 (CEST) 25 August 2023.